


Gone From Home

by amitiel



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Feelings of Inadequacy, Gen, Heartache, Mistakes, Misunderstandings, Poor Prompto, Pre-Canon, Running Away, Uncertain Ending, doubts, lack of self-worth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27113449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amitiel/pseuds/amitiel
Summary: Prompto makes a mistake that could have ended in disaster. Luckily, no one gets hurt, but then the rest of the chocobros start acting like they want nothing to do with him. Uncertain and able to take the hint, Prompto makes a decision that he thinks is for the best. He decides to run away.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Cor Leonis & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia
Comments: 6
Kudos: 95





	Gone From Home

Prompto was a cadet with the Crownsguard when he made the worst mistake of his life. He had been training with Cor so he could join Noctis’s retinue, something that many considered far out of his depth since he was just a commoner, and a poor one at that. Yet Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis seemed to think that his presence was necessary, that his skills with a gun were an important addition to the crew. Prompto constantly felt out of his depth. Noctis insisted that, as his best friend, he belonged more than anyone.

When Cor told the four of them that Prompto was ready for a hunting trip to the desert to test his skills with the group, he had felt so nervous that he was sure he was going to vomit. There was no way he was as ready as the others said he was, but they needed to test him regardless of what he thought or how he felt. He knew that he was going to let them down in some respect. He didn’t expect it to be as bad as it was though.

They faced a few smaller monsters, something that instilled some semblance of confidence within Prompto. He supposed that was the first mistake he made. The second mistake came when they faced down a behemoth as a group. Prompto wasn’t ready for it, but the others had made him think that he was. Nevertheless, the fight didn’t go well, no matter how much they believed in him. And people got hurt because of him.

If it hadn’t been for several phoenix downs and Gladio’s quick thinking as Noctis’s Shield, then Prompto would’ve been responsible for the prince’s death. He tried, or at least he thought he did, but when a bullet missed the behemoth and struck Ignis in the arm, he knew that he had truly fucked up. There was no excusing friendly fire, potions or phoenix downs or not. He wasn’t ready. Worst yet, he wasn’t capable.

Prompto tried to help. He did what he could, providing potions and downs from the armiger, but ultimately it was Ignis and Gladio who took control of the situation. They got out of there quickly, retreating from the lost battle with the behemoth, the fight deemed far too dangerous thanks to Prompto’s inexperience and mistakes. Retreating to a haven, the team regrouped to fight another day. Despite Prompto’s grave mistakes, no one had died.

“What the fuck were you thinking?!” Gladio shouted at Prompto, making him shrink back in fear, the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. “If any of us had died, it would've been your fault!”

“I-I know,” Prompto replied, terrified of saying anything else in response. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it this time, Prom,” Ignis said with a sigh, tending to Noctis’s wounds that could easily be treated with bandages. The phoenix downs took care of the rest. “We’ve put up with a lot of your mistakes in the past. This isn’t something we can tolerate.”

Prompto hung his head in shame and guilt, the thought of them putting up with him hurting nearly as much as his own ineptitude. He looked at Noctis, the one who was generally kinder to him than the others. Noctis just looked away, his silence telling him more than what he was prepared to face. He wasn’t just not ready to join the others, he was detrimental to their group.

Considering what to do, Prompto thought it was maybe better to just walk back to Insomnia and hitch a ride from someone else. But then he thought about how Ignis would scoff at the idea and tell him not to be so childish, that he opted to just sit at the edge of the haven and do nothing. Gladio indicated that it was better for him to stay out of the way, so he did what he could to make himself as small and invisible as possible.

When they got back to Insomnia, Prompto reported back to Cor and told him what happened. Cor only told him that they would train harder, work faster, and not let up for a moment. There was no emotion behind it, but Prompto could sense that he was disappointed. It was the same way that he heard the others talking about the trip on the way back. Prompto knew that he didn’t belong with them, and he wondered how long the others had harbored the same sentiments.

Prompto made his way back to his small, shabby apartment on his own, and he spent the rest of the night sobbing into his pillow due to his mistakes that almost cost his friends their lives. For about a week after that, Prompto focused solely on training. He noticed how none of his friends offered to hang out with him, and he could have sworn that whenever they saw him they made themselves busy. It was foolish of him to think that he was going to make anything of himself, let alone end up in the prince’s retinue. Now he would be lucky if he even made it into the Crownsguard.

The following week, Prompto reached out to Noctis, trying to see if he wanted to talk or hang out or just… something. Anything to prove that he still belonged. When Noctis didn’t respond until hours later, stating he was busy, Prompto let it go. The next time he asked, the rejection was swift. Prompto hesitated at that point, unable to shake the feeling that he was just being ignored. Deciding to reach out to Ignis and Gladio separately, he wasn’t exactly surprised when there wasn’t an answer at all.

Prompto tried telling himself that it was just because they were busy, that it wasn’t because he had fucked up to a point beyond repair. But when he made his way to the arcade to take his mind off of things and found Noctis there, playing several games while Ignis and Gladio cheered him on. He stopped and stared at them, his heartache and pain evident. Gladio tapped Noctis’s shoulder, and the prince looked at him in surprise.

“Prompto?” Noctis asked, looking a bit guilty, like he didn’t want to admit to him that he was just gaming at an arcade and technically wasn’t busy. “I didn’t realize you’d be here. What’s up?”

Frowning, Prompto didn’t respond. He realized the truth, plain as day. Noctis wanted nothing to do with him, and he wasn’t welcome amongst them anymore. The worst part was that he couldn’t blame him. Grief and pain spread through his body, from his heart outward, and he just turned around and made his way back to his apartment. After another round of crying at the realization that they didn’t want him around anymore, Prompto began to formulate a plan. 

The sound of his phone going off several times made him hesitate at first. There were several texts from Noctis, just asking him to meet and talk at some point in person. Prompto figured that he knew exactly what Noctis was going to say.  _ I don’t want to be friends anymore. Sorry, but you don’t cut it. I thought I’d give a commoner a chance, but I was wrong. Gladio and Ignis warned me. They put up with you enough. It’s over. You fucked up for the last time. _ He ignored the text.

Sighing, Prompto got his Crownsguard uniform together the next morning, waking up the same time that he had to for training. He pulled on plainclothes, jeans and a baggy sweatshirt with a hood, and finished the rest of the packing he needed to, so that his apartment was ready to be left behind. Knowing that he didn’t belong with the only people he wanted to belong with had broken him, and he decided that leaving the city altogether was the best way for him to stop inconveniencing and worrying those around him.

After training had started, Prompto made his way onto the training grounds and saw Cor barking instructions. He approached him, gave him a formal bow, then handed him the uniform and letter of resignation that he had written by hand the night before. Cor looked surprised, but he didn’t question it. He just accepted the resignation, told him to come back whenever he was ready to keep going, and to make sure Noctis and the others knew. Prompto only nodded and thanked him for putting so much effort into him, even though he knew that he was useless.

Without further ado, Prompto left the training grounds. He kept his suitcase by the door, had removed all the money he had in the world from his account, and set out on a trip to Lestallum. It was a smaller city, one where he could easily find a place to live and work. Best yet, it was far enough away to avoid putting the others in an awkward position should they cross paths. Prompto didn’t dare attempt to use the armiger, figuring it was closed off to him now anyway. And he didn’t dare tell Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio that he was leaving.

After all, there was no way they would miss him. They hadn’t since the hunting trip, and they likely never wanted him around in the first place. With a heavy heart, Prompto found his way to the small city and took the opportunity to begin again, just another anonymous migrant trying to find his way.

***

“Where’s Prompto?” Noctis asked Ignis for the millionth time that week. He had tried to get in touch with him several times, asking to see him, to talk to him. Gladio had been the one to reply to Prompto on his phone, telling him that he was busy when he wasn’t. They didn’t think much of it at first, until Prompto didn’t say a word and left the arcade, looking like he had just been thoroughly rejected. “Have you gotten in touch with him?

“Not yet,” Ignis replied with a sigh. “I imagine he’s been training with the Crownsguard and is just busy.”

“We could always just go to the training grounds and see him,” Gladio offered. “I mean, it’s been what? A week since we saw him at the arcade? Let’s just go see him and tell him we’re sorry for making him feel excluded.”

“We were a bit harsh after the hunting trip as well,” Ignis agreed. “The behemoth was too much for his level, and we put too much pressure on him to perform. It was no wonder he had a difficult time with everything.”

“He did make some mistakes,” Gladio pointed out. “Some that could’ve gotten Noctis killed. But you’re right. It’s on us for putting him into a situation he wasn’t prepared for.”

“Let’s go then,” Noctis determined. “I’m not going to wait around for him to talk to us. He won’t if he thinks we’re tired of him.”

They made their way to the Citadel training grounds, none of them suspecting that Prompto was entirely gone from the city itself. When they stepped into the room that the new cadets were training in, Noctis was surprised that he couldn’t find Prompto anywhere. That’s when he spotted Cor and made his way over to him. He would have answers. Maybe Prompto was sick.

“Hey Lord Marshal,” Noctis said, not sure how else to address him. “Is Prompto home sick?”

Cor looked at him in confusion. “Did he not tell you, your highness? Prompto resigned from the Crownsguard.”

“What do you mean he resigned?” Noctis asked in shock, a sense of dread growing in the pit of his stomach. There was something off, he realized, something that he should’ve seen already. 

“I told him to inform you all,” Cor said with a frown. “Did something happen between you three and him? He seemed pretty upset when he left. Mentioned something about being useless.”

“He’s not useless,” Ignis scoffed. “We need him on our team, and he’s a good friend to us. Did he say what he was going to do?”

Cor shook his head. “No. But he had a suitcase by the door. Didn’t carry anything in the armiger either.”

“Fuck,” Gladio groaned, looking around as if he would find him. “Did we really ignore him that much? We were busy with the king.”

“Did anyone bother to tell him that?” Cor asked. When they all looked at him blankly, Cor sighed in irritation. “For your sake, I hope you can find him and reconcile whatever is going on between you.”

“Come on,” Ignis encouraged them all. “I have his address. We can check on him there.”

They were quick to head towards the dilapidated apartment complex that Prompto lived in, none of them having been there before. It was in the slums of Insomnia, and Noctis wondered just how much Prompto kept from them for the sake of making sure they were all happy and unburdened by his life. He knew that Prompto wasn’t exactly rich, but to live somewhere that just looked so dangerous worried Noctis. No wonder he spent the majority of his time training with the Crownsguard or at Noctis’ apartment.

“Did anyone know he lived in a place like this?” Noctis asked, feeling awful that he really didn’t know his best friend as well as he thought. They made their way up to the apartment that Ignis had listed, the one who naturally kept track of names, addresses, and phone numbers. 

“No,” Ignis said as he shook his head. “I knew he lived in this area, but he told me that it was a decent place for him.”

“The guy has no self-worth,” Gladio pointed out. They stopped at the door that Ignis indicated was his and knocked. Then waited. And waited. Then they knocked again. There wasn’t an answer.

“Hey if you three know the little shit that lives there, you tell him that his rent is due or we’ll shovel his shit onto the sidewalk and sell it,” an angry looking man said as he walked by. He realized who he was talking to, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

“Can you let us in?” Noctis asked, sounding more like a prince than Prompto’s friend. That was all it took. They were let inside, and a moment later they were facing a nearly empty apartment, save for the worn out furniture. There was a note taped to the fridge, and Noctis took it down and read it carefully, trying to understand what he was seeing. A pain spread in his chest as he read it over and over again, and tears swelled in his eyes.

_ Left Insomnia. Not coming back. You can sell the furniture. Consider this my notice of abandonment. _

_ Prompto Argentum _

“He’s gone,” Noctis whispered. He looked at Ignis and Gladio, tears streaming down his cheeks. “He’s gone. What have we done?”

***

It was four months after Prompto left for Lestallum that he finally felt like he had found his groove in the city. A much cheaper place to live, he had been able to afford a decent loft while working as a barista at the local hotel. He opted to go moonlighting for a local magazine owner who needed photos here and there, which not only gave him the extra gil but also the experience as a photographer. 

Nevertheless, it rarely helped to soothe his aching heart, a pain he didn’t really expect to go away for many years to come. Prompto had changed his phone number the moment he resigned from the Crownsguard, not wanting to have to hear Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio tell him that they were better off without him. His parents knew he was in Lestallum now, but they were so busy traveling that they likely wouldn’t meet him there for years. 

Prompto missed his former life. He missed spending his days training and his nights with Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio. He missed going on fishing trips, camping under the stars, and playing video games with the prince too late into the night. There was so much he missed out on that he felt like a part of himself was lost. Yet he was trying to find a way back to himself, a new self, without them. He had to. There was no other option for him.

So he wouldn’t be a part of the Crownsguard, wouldn’t be a part of the prince's retinue, wouldn’t get to fight alongside them. Ever at your side was only wishful thinking, something that he didn’t deserve. After all, he was just a commoner. What right did he have to be friends with Noctis, let alone fight for him?

“Prompto,” the server said as he approached the blond. “Table two needs a cappuccino, a hot chocolate, and a regular strong coffee.”

“On it,” Prompto immediately replied. He noted how the drinks were very much like what the guys would order during the cold months. Now that winter was upon them, he supposed he would get a lot more orders like this. Quickly, he prepared the drinks, put them on a tray, and made his way out to the dining room. He froze when he saw who was at table two.

“Prompto?” Noctis asked, spotting him before he could turn around. Prompto knew that he was caught, and with a rapidly beating heart, he made his way over to the table and set the drinks down. The cappuccino belonged to Ignis, the coffee to Gladio, and the hot chocolate to Noctis. He had memorized their drink preferences years ago.

“Here you are,” Prompto said with a false smile, standing up straight in his dressed down suit that was his uniform. “Let me know if you need anything else. Your server will be back with you shortly.”

“Prompto, wait!” Noctis called as Prompto made his way back to the hot bar. He stopped, his back turned to them, unable to move. Taking a deep breath, he put his smile back on his face and turned back to him.

“Is there something else I can get for you?” Prompto said with a smile, keeping things strictly business. He didn’t want to hear them tell him that they were better off without him.

“What happened?” Noctis asked, looking at him with a tearfulness that shocked him. His smile fell, and he bit his bottom lip, looking at Noctis with a pained expression. “Why did you leave?”

“You guys didn’t want anything to do with me anymore,” Prompto explained. “Why would I stay when I hurt my only friends? I didn’t want you to ‘put up’ with me anymore. I just wanted you to be happy.”

“Listen, what we said is on us,” Noctis pleaded. “But we didn’t want you to go anywhere. We love you, Prom. When you disappeared… we were devastated. We want you back. We  _ need _ you back. Please. I’ll get down on my knees and beg if that’s what it takes.”

Prompto stared at him in shock. Why was he saying this? To prolong the torture? To make it more devastating for him? Or was he being honest about it? He had never lied to him before… unless he counted that he lied about wanting to be around him. Prompto didn’t know if he could trust it. His faith in himself had been broken, much less everyone else.

“I…” Prompto began, trying to figure out what to do. “I have to get back to work.”

Noctis looked devastated by the words. He nodded, as if he deserved that answer. Prompto noticed that Ignis and Gladio looked just as upset.

“But I get off at five,” Prompto continued. Noctis looked at him hopefully. “We can talk about it then.”

“Five it is,” Noctis nodded. “I’ll meet you outside of the hotel.”

Prompto nodded and went back to work, unsure of what was going to happen. Nevertheless, there was a hope blossoming in his chest. Maybe he could return back to Insomnia and back to his life. Maybe, just maybe, he was a bit more loved than he expected. The only thing he could do is wait, wait and hope that Noctis truly wanted him back home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the anonymous person who provided this prompt. It was a lot of fun to write! I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Also this is definitely my standard finishing note on my fics: Poor Prompto XD


End file.
